In modern electronics a demand for more power at lower supply voltages constantly increases due to higher levels of integration and modern device technology.
A common solution for supplying a circuit with high currents is to connect several power converter modules in a current sharing configuration i.e. a parallel configuration. Such a current sharing configuration might cause some problems if one of the power converter modules therein all of a sudden malfunctions and is no longer operative. This loss of power from the malfunctioning power converter module causes the rest of the power converter modules in the current sharing configuration to supply a higher current. This might in turn trigger another power converter module to malfunction. If this series of events continuous uninterrupted a so called domino effect occurs. A further problem occurs if one of the previously malfunctioning power converter modules becomes operative again and is forced to supply a high current due to malfunctioning of the other power converter modules. The now operative power converter module quickly becomes overheated and malfunctions again. This domino effect might cause a power converter system configured for current sharing to completely shut down.
A number of techniques exist for allowing a power converter system to be used in a current sharing configuration without the problems associated with the domino effect. The obvious solution for eliminating the domino effect is to use synchronized start and stop of the power converter modules, respectively. The synchronized start and stop can be achieved by using a communication bus between the power converter modules for initiating synchronized start and stop thereof, such a bus can for example be a CAN bus or a dedicated digital power bus such as PMBus (Power Management Bus). The use of a dedicated communication bus for controlling a power converter system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,372,682.
However, a dedicated communication bus might be unnecessary complicated for some applications.